2020 NFL Draft: Miami Hurricanes prospects to watch in Week 1

Shaquille Quarterman

It isn’t too often you come across a four-year starter in college football.

Quarterman, standing at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, has held down the middle of the Hurricanes defense for the past three seasons and has provided leadership and consistent production during that time.

Quarterman is an instinctive run defender and takes effective angles to the ball in pursuit. He maintains gap discipline and does an effective job coming downhill and filling at the point-of-attack. He wraps effectively and closes on opposing ball carriers with impressive speed.

Quarterman can disrupt the game as an A gap blitzer and can flat out blow up plays when he gets a good jump.

The biggest issue defending the run Quarterman tends to have is getting off blocks. While he can spot openings and meet ball carriers in the hole, he has trouble disengaging when he gets caught up at the second level.

He is a solid overall athlete but he hasn’t displayed much ability in man coverage up to this point. Quarterman can survive playing the underneath in zone coverage, but he isn’t asked to do much on his own and might not have the fluidity and long speed to hold up consistently at the next level.

Despite some of his limitations, Quarterman is a good space tackler that cleans things up quickly when the ball does comes his way.

Heading into the Florida matchup, Quarterman is likely to leave his fingerprints all over this game. He’s going to be a presence as a run defender and, while some of his coverage looks could be limited, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him impact the game as a blitzer on third down as well.